Pwersa Ng Masang Pilipino - Ideology and Political Positions

Ideology and Political Positions

P R E A M B L E

We, who recognize the needs and aspirations of the Filipino masses, with the aid of Divine Providence, in order to establish a society enjoying full political and economic sovereignty, equitable distribution of the opportunities for power and wealth, and a self-reliant economy effectively controlled by Filipinos, do ordain and promulgate this Constitution and By-Laws.

ARTICLE I

NAME AND ADDRESS OF THE PARTY

Section 1. The formal name of the Party shall be: "Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino”

Section 2. The short name of the Party shall be: “PMP”

Section 3. The Party shall have its principal office in Metro Manila with branches in cities, provinces, district, and municipalities of the Philippines.

DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES

Section 1. Political. In the political field, the government must aim to attain full sovereignty, adopt an independent foreign policy and promote an equitable distribution of political power. It must reconcile with our brother Filipinos who rise in arms against our government. It must make the criminal justice system including the judiciary free from corruption and partisan politics, truly fair and impartial, more efficient and restore the adherence and respect for just laws and give priority to the prosecution of the rich and powerful offenders and criminal syndicates. It must implement an authentic and real autonomy of local government.

Section 2. Economic. In the economic field, must promote a genuine and democratized free enterprise system and developed a self-reliant national economy through the development of the countryside and agriculture to serve as foundations for industrialization and technological development. Privatization, deregulation and debt reduction schemes must primarily benefit the masses. Payment of our foreign debt should be limited to a certain percentage of our export earnings. Government must implement an authentic and truly comprehensive agrarian reform program geared towards, production and food security. Agrarian reform should be supplemented by a genuine countryside development program which should include needed support services and productivity orientation and an urban land reform to enable the urban dwellers to acquire lands of their own, giving due respect to the concept of private property. The government must formulate and implement a program intended for Filipinos and allow the opportunity to own and/ or control big business enterprises that are strategic and critical to our economy. Government must encourage and support the establishment of basic industries and promote rural development. Government must improve tax collection. Government corporations must be required to remit part of its net income to the national government.

Section 3. Social. In the social field, government must equitably diffuse wealth and regulate the acquisition, ownership, use and disposition of private property. The guiding principle should be social justice. Pro-poor policies and programs must be adopted and implemented by the government. The poor and indigenous and ethnic communities should directly benefit from government development programs. The ancestral lands of these communities must be recognized, delineated and transferred to the appropriate parties. Social programs for the urban poor, the landless farmers, fishermen, teachers, overseas workers, the youth, the artists, the unemployed and indigenous communities.

In 1992, PMP fielded Joseph Ejercito Estrada to run for Vice President of the Republic of the Philippines together with other local candidates under PMP Mr. Estrada overwhelmingly won against his four opponents.

The PMP also participated in the May 1995 election. In 1997, a permanent and fully operational headquarters was established at 409 Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong City. In 1998, PMP was very much involed in the election with the candidacy of Estrada as President and other local candidates nationwide. PMP led opposition coalition Laban ng Malayang Masang Pilipino (LAMMP) with the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) and Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) with full slates at the national and local levels. Card-bearing members reached to as high as 3.2 million nationwide. The 11 million Filipinos overwhelmingly voted for Joseph Estrada as President of the Republic of the Philippines, the biggest winning margin in the history of the Philippines.

In 2001, PMP once again led the opposition coalition. Majority of the candidates under PMP were elected in office, led by Dr. Luisa Ejercito Estrada who won a seat in the Senate.

Two years later, the name Partido ng Masang Pilipino was changed to Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino.

In April 2004, PMP agreed to enter into coalition with the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) and Partido Demokratiko ng Pilipinas-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP LABAN) to form the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP) and support the candidacy of Fernando Poe, Jr. for President of the Republic of the Philippines.